https://arab.news/ghxh5
RIYADH: UK finance minister Rachel Reeves said on Monday she was confident a trade deal with Gulf countries can be done quickly after she had 鈥渞eally good鈥� meetings in Riyadh about an agreement that could help her plan to speed up economic growth.
鈥淚 am really confident we can get that deal over the line,鈥� she said at a forum held in the Saudi capital, adding she was hopeful that the agreement could be reached 鈥渧ery soon.鈥�
Reeves, making the first visit to the region by a British finance minister in six years, will seek to advance trade talks while attending 黑料社区鈥檚 flagship investment summit.
She planned to use the trip to speak with her counterparts from Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar to try to progress a trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council 鈥� a six-nation group.
British administrations have sought to reach an agreement with the GCC after the UK left the EU in 2020.
Reeves also expected to meet senior Saudi royals, members of President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration and business figures while in 黑料社区 for a gathering of global political leaders and company chief executives.
Last year 黑料社区鈥檚 Public Investment Fund bought a 15 percent stake in London鈥檚 Heathrow Airport from Spanish construction company Ferrovial and Britain said it expected further investment announcements this week.
New state-owned airline Riyadh Air, which ordered 25 partly British-built Airbus A350 aircraft in June, has announced its inaugural flight will be to Heathrow.
Britain鈥檚 finance ministry said it estimated a GCC trade deal would add 拢1.6 billion ($2.2 billion) a year to British economic output 鈥� equivalent to about 0.06 percent of annual gross domestic product.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited 黑料社区 and the UAE last year.